The Ascension to the Convention

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Now that we know the nomination isn't a done deal I figured we should come up with a corny title and back it up with a majestic horn section and some timpani and repeat it every three minutes. If we're going to be a news organization we need to act like one! Other possibilities are "The Contention for the Convention" or "Center of Attention at the Convention"

Hillary Clinton's New Hampshire primary win puts her 9 delegates closer to the nomination. Although he finished second, Barack Obama also got 9 delegates and John Edwards followed up with 4 delegates.
We continue to update the Delegate Tracker (on the left) as well as our Superdelegate List and our List of Superdelegates who haven't endorsed whenever we get new information.

Next up is Michigan on January 15th (which if you haven't kept up with is quite a story) followed by Nevada on the 19th and South Carolina on the 26th.

Won't the media ever learn

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The media has such a herd mentality. And every 4 years, the same things happen. 90% of the people voting in these early primaries, and actually, in all the primaries, don't pay attention until the last couple of days, and don't care about who the media has coronated. In addition, New Hampshire has a history of ignoring the results of Iowa - not always, but often enough. Gephardt in 1988, Mondale in 1984, Huckabee in 2008, Bush in 2000, Dole in 1996, Dole in 1988, Bush in 1980, all winners in Iowa who lost in New Hampshire. Of the 10 primaries (without an incumbent president) since Iowa became a factor since 1980 (ignoring Carter's 2nd place in Iowa in '76), 78 of the 10 have had different winners in Iowa and New Hampshire. Now Obama may still pull it out tonight. But the exit polls seem to indicate that the good people of New Hampshire decided in the last 24 hours that they weren't ready to end this primary and Hillary Clinton's bid to be president. Good for them.

Update: It's now 8 9 of 11 since 1980. And 5 of 5 for the GOP. (Iowa and NH GOP electorate very different).

New Hampshire Primary Day... things might get interesting

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The first primary of this election year started at midnight in the small northern New Hampshire town of Dixville Notch. At stake in today's primary are New Hampshire's 22 Democratic delegates.
Most polls will close at 7pm with a few staying open until 8.

Streaming coverage can be seen on MSNBC and from WMUR sometime during the day. You can also watch CSPAN starting at 7 Eastern.

You can see sample a sample ballot complete with 21 Democratic candidates here (pdf)
And if you live in NH but don't know where to vote you can find out on the Secretary of State's site.

Update: MSNBC just reported that several precincts are expressing concerns that they won't have enough ballots. The Secretary of State has said they will be sending more ballots to precincts that request them. MSNBC specifically added that these were predominantly Democratic districts.

Update II: 8:10PM NBC has called New Hampshire for John McCain

Update III: Results can be seen as they come in on WMUR

Update IV: MSNBC calls it for Clinton. To Nevada and South Carolina we go.

Governor Dean in Denver on Thursday to help fix Manual High School

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Governor Howard Dean will be in Denver on Tuesday to help work on the recently re-opened Manual High School in Denver.

DNCC Press Release:

DENVER - Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Howard Dean, along with members of the DNC's Executive Committee, will join Convention CEO Leah D. Daughtry and the staff of the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) for a service project at 3:00 p.m. on THURSDAY, January 10, 2008. In a project coordinated by the Colorado branch of Volunteers of America, Dean and the DNCC team will paint and plaster a room in need of repair at Manual High School and partner with students for a crafts project in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.As one of Denver's oldest schools, Manual first opened its doors in the 1890s. After a recent closure due to declining enrollment and low student performance, Manual re-opened its doors this past fall with a goal of emerging as one of Denver's premier high schools.

WHAT:
Governor Howard Dean will join the DNCC CEO and staff for a community service project at Manual High School. The event marks the most recent outing in a series of "DNCC Service Days" focused on three areas of importance to the Denver-area community: youth, environmental projects and the combined issues of homelessness and hunger.

WHO:
Governor Howard Dean, Chairman of the DNC
Leah D. Daughtry, CEO of the DNCC
Members of the DNC's Executive Committee
DNCC Staff

WHEN:
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm, Thursday, January 10, 2008

WHERE:
Manual High School
1700 E 28th Ave
Denver, CO

You can read more about Manual in this Denver Post article from June

The "new" Manual - its characteristics lifted from flourishing private and charter schools - won't look like any traditional Denver high school when its doors swing open in August.

All kids will have "family" groups to talk about home or friend problems. The school days will be longer for those falling behind academically. Students will most likely have a dress code.

"A lot of the kids have jobs where they show up on time, they behave, they dress appropriately," said incoming principal Rob Stein. "I think it will look like a good business."

Harry Reid and Leah Daughtry to speak to NV voters on Wednesday

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If any readers attend this event we'd love to hear from you

DNCC Press Release:
With excitement mounting among Nevadans for the state's January caucus and then building toward August and the 2008 Democratic National Convention in neighboring Colorado, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will join Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) CEO Leah D. Daughtry for the fourth in a series of DNCC community forums at 1:00 p.m. on WEDNESDAY, January 9, 2008, in Las Vegas. The event marks the first time the DNCC has traveled outside of Colorado for a Convention forum.

The series - "Convention Conversations: A Traveling Forum Sponsored by the DNCC" - launched in Denver in September and traveled to Pueblo, Colo. and Boulder, Colo. in recent months. The community forums are designed to provide residents throughout the Intermountain West with opportunities for direct communication with top Convention organizers and a venue to ask questions, share ideas and find out how they can get involved in the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

WHAT:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will join DNCC CEO Leah D. Daughtry for the first "Convention Conversations" forum outside of Colorado to answer questions and offer information to Las Vegas residents about the historic regional opportunities presented by the early Nevada caucus and the Democratic National Convention in 2008.

WHO:
Senator Harry Reid, Majority Leader
Leah D. Daughtry, CEO of the DNCC

WHEN:
1:00 p.m., Wednesday, January 9, 2008

WHERE:
Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 525
760 North Lamb Blvd.
Las Vegas, Nevada

NOTE: Members of the public interested in attending the forum are asked to RSVP to rsvp@demconvention.com or (720) DNC-2008, as space is limited. Members of the media do not need to RSVP.

Michigan loses its hotel rooms at the Red Lion

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It looks like Michigan delegates will need to start searching for hotel rooms outside of the Denver metro area. Unless the reservations aren't truly released delegates will be hard-pressed to find a hotel with enough rooms anywhere close to downtown.

Michigan Democrats no longer can count on getting hotel rooms at their national convention in Denver.

The Democratic National Committee's Rules Committee last month stripped Michigan of its 156 national convention delegates as punishment for scheduling an early presidential primary in violation of party rules. State party officials had until Saturday to come up with an alternative to the Jan. 15 contest, but declined to do so.

That decision caused the DNC to informally tell state Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer that the party no longer has reservations at the Red Lion Hotel Denver Central during the Aug. 25-28 convention, state party spokesman Jason Moon said Monday. - AP

You can read our previous stories about Michigan and the convention here

Florida teen reporting his way to the convention

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You may have read the AP article about 15-year-old Noah Gray who has attended a debate and interviewed four of the Democratic candidates for President. In the article Noah expressed his interest in coming to Denver for the convention

Noah wants to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver next August and interview more candidates. Someday he hopes to make documentaries or maybe be involved in journalism.

The article (incorrectly) gave a link to Noah's website which is called Virgin Voting. The site has an amazing video that Noah produced about the 2008 Elections and the importance of youth voting. After watching the video I wanted to know more about Noah. I asked him some questions and he was kind enough to reply.

What first got you into politics?

I started being interested in politics during the 2000 presidential election when George W. Bush ran against Al Gore. I was in third grade at the time and we were doing a unit on the election in school. I remember staying up late with a “scorecard” of states and erasing and changing the colors a lot. At around midnight, my parents told me to go to bed, since it wasn’t going to be over that night. I was “hooked” on the process ever since.

If you had 10 seconds with someone of voting age but said they don’t vote, what would you say?

I would ask them how they could let other people make decisions about their lives for them without them having a say so! I would tell them that it could be them going off to war someday and possibly dying for a cause they don’t believe in!

Who would you most like to meet at the convention?

Any candidate or person in power with a lot of media pull who can help me be successful in getting the attention of 18 to 24 year olds and motivate them to get informed and vote! Also, whoever wins the nomination to be the Democratic presidential candidate, because that would be really cool.

Have you ever been to Denver?

No, I have never been to Denver, but I am really looking forward to going (even though the convention is during the first week of school for me).

When you get older do you see yourself as a reporter or a politician?

I see myself as being more of a reporter or documentary filmmaker than a politician, even though I am excited by politics. I’d like to continue to combine both my passions and cover the political process.

How do you feel about the current state of the media?

I am disappointed about how the media doesn’t give enough coverage to the second and third tier candidates and only focus on who they think will be the frontrunners. I think this influences how people think and vote. I think it is only fair that everyone should have as much information as possible about each candidate so they can make informed decisions. Each candidate should have as much airtime as possible, not just what they can afford – they should all be seen and heard equally. That is what I am trying to do by covering as many candidates as I can (even the Republicans) and asking them all the same questions.

Candidates, news organizations and convention leaders can reach Noah by email (his address can be found on his website). I think it would be a great idea to get him involved to help push more young voters to the polls in November.

We look forward to hearing more about Noah and his quest to go to the convention. And I really think his teachers would excuse him if he has to miss his first week of school.

Brokered Convention Madness

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As happens every four years, what can only be described as "brokered convention madness" has broken out. It's something people can write about, and political reporters and bloggers would just love to report on a convention that really meant something. But it just isn't going to happen. With a hattip to our friends over at The GOP Convention Report, comes this quote from The Corner:

I have been writing about conventions professionally since 1976, and following elections since 1968. Every cycle, the breathless pieces on the brokered convention come out.

It never happened in the last 39 years, and it won't happen next year. When candidates lose a few, their money dries up, and the madness of crowds takes over.

I'll throw another reason out there. The media is relentless in asking trailing candidates when they are going to drop out, totally drowning out any message they have. I mean, Edwards was already getting the question this weekend.

There's absolutely no way one of the top three Democratic candidates won't drop out (and release their delegates) after the rush of primaries in the next few weeks. Now, admittedly, it's easier to construct a scenario on the Republican side, with 4 or 5 major candidates still hanging in, but it's not going to happen.

Clinton trying to hold her superdelegates

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We all know that Clinton has a lead in superdelegates. Well, apparently her finish in Iowa may be causing that solid block of support to crumble, setting off a crisis in Clinton land:

The scope of Barack Obama's victory in Iowa has shaken the Clinton machine down to its bolts. Donors are panicking. The campaign has been making a round of calls to reassure notoriously fickle "superdelegates" — elected officials and party regulars who are awarded convention spots by virtue of their titles and positions — who might be reconsidering their decisions to back the candidate who formerly looked like a sure winner.

We'll report any superdelegates who withdraw their endorsement. And keep on eye on Bill Clinton, who himself is a superdelegate. If he withdraws his support, then we'll know she's in trouble!

DNCC names GM Official Vehicle Provider for the convention

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Denver area residents get ready for a blowout used car sale in September! Prices will be low low low for these lightly used GM cars.

The Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) today named General Motors Corporation (GM) as the official vehicle provider for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, to be held August 25-28 in Denver. In keeping with the DNCC's commitment to making this the most sustainably-produced political Convention in history, the DNCC will be working closely with GM to select a fleet of vehicles designed to maximize fuel efficiencies and take advantage of new flex fuel and hybrid vehicle technologies.
'As the country's largest manufacturer, GM has a long history with the American people and with the Democratic National Convention,' said Leah D. Daughtry, CEO of the DNCC. 'We're proud to welcome them back to the team for 2008. GM has an established track record that demonstrates the company's commitment to supporting technological innovation and improving the fuel economy of all GM vehicles. GM's leadership in this area will play a critical role in our event - helping us make this the 'greenest' political Convention our country has ever seen, while providing our guests with yet another convenient option for getting around Denver.'

You can read the entire press release here.

Ritz-Carlton set to open in Denver next week

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Denver will have its first 5-star hotel next week when the Ritz-Carlton opens. The $75 million hotel will added 2002 much needed rooms to downtown Denver.

King said the Ritz is booked solid for the Democratic National Convention this August. The hoteliers are in the dark about whom the guests will be, having been told only by the DNC that it will not house state delegates there. -Rocky Mountain News

As the most premier hotel in Denver I'm sure this is where all of the bigwigs will be including candidates and congresspeople will be staying.

One-mile lockdown talk again from the Denver media

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I have heard from four different individuals from the Denver Police Department, the Mayor's Office and the DNCC stating that no solid plans have been put in place as to a security lockdown. Nevertheless another Denver media outline has thrown out the "one-mile lockdown radius" story.

The offender this time is 9 News:

Security officials with the DNC want to control traffic and may establish a one-mile lockdown radius around the Pepsi Center, making school bus traffic or parent pick-ups very difficult.

I'm going to try to find out where Channel 9 got this from. Again like the Rocky Mountain News article a major city-closing possibility is thrown out without a source.

This is from an e-mail I got from a Denver Police official yesterday:
At this time, there have been no final decisions regarding any road closures near, or around the Pepsi Center during the Democratic National Convention. Those discussions are on-going and are in the early phases of the planning process. Our intention is to minimize any disruptions to roadways, businesses, and residences. RTD has been heavily involved in DNC planning and will be an important component of the transportation system during the convention. A one mile lock down around the Pepsi Center has not been part of our discussions.

Update: According to Nelson Garcia, the reporter of the story, the one-mile lockdown was discussed between Denver Public School officials and DNCC security officials. Both the DPS spokesperson Alex Sanchez and the School Board President mentioned the possible lockdown.

Update 2: DPS Spokesman Alex Sanchez has told me he doesn't know where the mile-wide radius lockdown story came from and that contrary to Nelson Garcia from 9 News he did not make any kind of statement about a mile-wide radius lockdown.

Hopefully no other news organizations rely on the mystery person talking about massive lockdowns.

Michigan Democratic Party officials: Don't write in your candidate if they're not on the ballot

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From today's Saginaw News:

Her choices are those who remain on the ballot -- U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, former U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio -- or to vote uncommitted.

"Those are none of my choices to be president of the United States," the retired Bridgeport Township accountant said. "So what do I do? Do I not vote?"

For certain, Crawford and others who find themselves similarly puzzled should not write in their pick. State Democratic Party officials are telling voters not to write in the names of any of the four who have dropped out.

"We don't want people to waste their vote by casting a write-in that won't count," said Jason Moon, a spokesman for the state party in Lansing.

The article goes on to suggest that people vote "Uncommitted" which can free up delegates for the convention if at least 15% vote this way.

Update: There's an interesting discussion about Florida and Michigan delegations over at MyDD. We're going to have more on what could happen to the delegates from these states, and we'll be a little more serious than worrying about where they'll be sleeping. - Matt

Obama wins Iowa caucuses

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With what appears to be a record turnout NBC has just declared Barack Obama as the winner of the Iowa Caucus with 38% of the caucus. John Edwards finished in 2nd place with 30% and Hillary Clinton 29%.

Iowa will send 16 delegates for Obama to the covention, Edwards 15 and Clinton 14.

On the Republican side Mike Huckabee won with Romney coming in 2nd and Thompson and McCain tied for 3rd.

Update: Chris Dodd and Joe Biden have both ended their presidential campaigns. We will be looking for announcements from both Senators regarding who they decide to support.

Iowa caucus day is finally here

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We finally made it to the big day. In just a few hours caucus locations will be opening and we'll finally see if all of the candidates' hard work has paid off.

CSPAN will be covering the Democratic Iowa Democratic Caucus beginning at 7 Eastern
If you're as much of a political geek as I am today is pretty exciting. I'll probably watch some of the Republican Caucus on CSPAN-2 which also starts at 7.

If you live in Iowa and don't know your caucus location you can check at Iowa First Caucus
And if you missed my post yesterday here is a great video on how the caucus works.

Watch the video here

Check back tomorrow for updated delegate numbers at the Delegate Tracker on the front page.

Update: A new report from the Iowa Independent is claiming that Bill Richardson is asking his supporters to caucus for Obama in the second round of voting. This is a one-way deal unlike Edwards and Kucinich's announcement yesterday that they will send their caucusers to each other should they not get enough support. (Note that the CNN article says the Iowa caucus is on Monday... way to go CNN). No word yet on any deals involving Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd or Joe Biden.

CU Professor teaching a class to solve DNC math problems

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The Denver Post has a story on University of Colorado Professor Harvey Greenberg who is teaching a class called Math Clinic: Preparing for the Democratic National Convention.

When professor Harvey Greenberg thinks about the Democratic National Convention, he sees problems — math ones.

Like 12,000 volunteers in thousands of positions for five days means a million job shifts. Or hauling 35,000 people from the airport to the convention center — and doing it in an environmentally friendly way — means thousands of routes timed to perfection.

These problems pose a great learning opportunity for Greenberg's math class at the University of Colorado Denver, where a few dozen students will toil on the stickiest and hairiest logistics for the biggest party Denver has hosted in a generation.

You can read more about the class at CU Denver's website

The Democratic National Convention will be held in Denver August 25-28. Its planning is being co-managed by the national DNC Committee and the DNC Host Committee. Our goal is to understand preparation and planning challenges that are amenable to mathematical modeling. One example is bus scheduling to move delegates and others between hotels and the Pepsi Center. Less obvious are challenges associated with the Host Committee initiative: Greening the DNC . This is an exciting frontier not done by any other Convention Committee. There are many more challenges for planning this historic event, creating opportunities for us to explore.

It will be interesting to see what the findings are from the class and whether the DNC decides to use any of it in their planning.

Qwest named official telecommunications provider for the convention

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The Democratic National Convention Committee has named Qwest as the Official Telecommunications Provider for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. This news shouldn't be a huge surprise as Qwest is based in Denver and has pledged $6 million to the DNCC for the convention.

“Qwest has been a longtime partner of the Denver business community – and today we are proud to call them our partner, too,” said Leah D. Daughtry, CEO of the DNCC. “Qwest’s state-of-the-art network and skilled union labor force will play a significant role in helping us deliver a spectacular event to the American people and media outlets around the world.”

As the official telecommunications provider, Qwest will provide wireline voice and data services, including high-speed Internet, for the DNCC, delegates and more than 15,000 members of the media expected to visit Denver for the Convention. Qwest also will supply the cabling for voice and data services for the DNCC and media at the Pepsi Center, site of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Update from Matt: Colorado Confidential has more on the bigger change taking place:

The Qwest pledge of $6 million to the 2008 Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) in Denver demonstrates the change in political party fortunes at a deeper level. Qwest, its telecom rivals, Comcast and Level 3, and the communications industry in general are shifting their political donations from Republicans to Democrats.
...
But the strong financial support of the Democratic convention appears to be part of a sea change in telecom political donations. In 2004, for instance, Qwest gave 33 percent of its campaign donations to Democrats and 67 percent to Republicans via its political action committee. So far in the 2008 election cycle, its PAC donations have been split 50-50 between the two parties. And this doesn't even include the $6 million to the convention.

Level 3 Communications in the past has been more even-handed between Dems and Repubs. In 2004, it gave 54 percent to Democratic candidates and 46 percent to Republicans. But so far in the 2008 cycle, its PAC has given 89 percent to Democrats and 11 percent to Republicans.

Convention Host Committee to host business breakfast in Boulder area

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Boulder business leaders can meet with DNC Host Committee members at a free breakfast.

The Democratic National Convention Host Committee will hold a free breakfast for Boulder Valley businesses at 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 6, at the offices of Além International Management, 624 S. Arthur Ave., Suite 200 in Louisville.

The breakfast meeting, which will offer an overview to the upcoming national convention in Denver, also will encourage business leaders to join the Democrats' Summit Club with a donation of $5,280.

Steve Farber, fundraising co-chairman for the Denver 2008 host committee, will be present along with Mike Dino, chief executive, and Elbra Wedgeworth, president, of the host committee.

More information about becoming a founding member of the Summit Club. For information about the breakfast and to make reservations, call Kristin Health Colon, chief marketing officer and vice president of Além, 303-473-1998, ext. 108, or by e-mail at Kristin.colon@aleminternational.com. - BCBR

More superdelegates pledge support

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We are continuing to update our Superdelegate List and Delegate Tracker whenever we find a new official endorsement. Over the Christmas and New Year's break Hillary Clinton gained superdelegates Senator Maria Cantwell from Washington and NJ Representative Donald Payne. Obama gained the endorsement of ND Senator Kent Conrad. We also added several DNC superdelegates thanks to a commenter. Please add comments if you know of anyone we missed.

You can view the complete list here. This is the most complete superdelegate list on the Internet.

After tomorrow's Iowa caucus we will update the Delegate Tracker which is located on the left side of the blog.

Happy New Year! We're finally in an election year.

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It's hard to believe we've finally reached the year we'll be voting for the successor of George W. Bush. The primary race officially starts tomorrow in Iowa with both Democratic and Republican caucuses.

A caucus is a completely different beast from the primary voting most people are used to. The best overview of what will happen tomorrow in Iowa comes from the John Edwards campaign.

Sure it's corny but it's a good video to watch if you're clueless about caucuses.

CQPolitics has a good Iowa Caucus FAQ that's worth a look too.